


Of Silver Hair and Chocobos

by PurpleWombat14481



Category: Final Fantasy XV, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Chocobos, FFXV Spoilers, Lots of side pairings, M/M, Multi, Prince Riku AU, Riku is Noctis' brother, Sora's allowed to say Fuck, Vaguely Follows Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-10 16:37:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15295665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleWombat14481/pseuds/PurpleWombat14481
Summary: Riku’s world was crumbling around him. Literally.He was crouched behind a pile of rubble that used to be the ceiling of the main hallway of the Citadel, knees to his chest, trying not to cry. He could hear more explosions, both from within the Citadel and outside in the city. Gunfire was all around. He knew the Empire’s soldiers were looking for him. He should run.~~~~~A Final Fantasy XV Kingdom Hearts AU! Riku is Noctis' younger brother and its not easy. Follows plot points from FFXV, with Riku and other KH characters inserted.





	Of Silver Hair and Chocobos

**Author's Note:**

> Tags will be updated as I write! Title also subject to change. 
> 
> This came about because I needed a prince Riku au, and I plotted this in my head and decided to write it. Most original KH characters are here somewhere, several as Crownsguard and Kingsglaive. 
> 
> Feedback is appreciated <3 I hope you enjoy!

Riku’s world was crumbling around him. Literally.

He was crouched behind a pile of rubble that used to be the ceiling of the main hallway of the Citadel, knees to his chest, trying not to cry. He could hear more explosions, both from within the Citadel and outside in the city. Gunfire was all around. He knew the Empire’s soldiers were looking for him. He should run, but moving seemed impossible.

His father was dead, killed in front of him by the very people that had been gathered to bring peace.

Noctis, his brother, dead too. The men said that they’d hunted him down before even reaching Insomnia. His friends as well.

He was the only Lucis Caelum left.

Riku was never meant to be king.

Of course, he never would be, if he couldn’t manage to escape.

The rubble around him shifted, causing him to tense. This was it. The MTs had found him and the Caelum line would end, prophesy unfulfilled. Riku squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for the end.

A warm hand on his shoulder was what came instead. He cracked one eye open. Brown spikes filled his vision. Relief spread through him as familiar arms wrapped around his neck.

“You’re okay! Thank the gods.” Sora squeezed Riku tightly for a second before pulling away. “We have to get you out of here, come on.”

Sora’s hand wrapped around his and he was pulled to his feet. A sword was shoved into his non-dominant hand. “Where can I go? They’ll look for me everywhere.” The hand around his squeezed tighter.

“We’ll find somewhere. I won’t let them get to you.” Sora sent him a reassuring smile. It was small, and tense, but it was more than enough to get Riku moving.

They ran through what was left of the Citadel, dodging bullets and falling debris. No one stopped them. The Empire seemed preoccupied with causing as much destruction as possible, not thinking that anyone important had escaped the first attack. Riku didn’t think he’d have been able to fight anyway. He was shaking and only his hand as a tether to Sora was keeping him moving.

They’d just about made it outside when someone noticed that yes, that man with the silver hair is indeed the prince, someone should take care of that. Three MTs and one of the officers from the disastrous treaty signing surrounded them.

Sora dropped Riku’s hand and summoned his comically large sword from the armiger. He took a defensive stance in front of Riku. Riku was just trying to figure out a way to get them both to safety.

“When I charge, I need you to run for the nearest exit and don’t look back, okay?” Sora told him, eyes flickering between the enemies, sizing them up and strategizing. Riku’s heart almost stopped. He couldn’t lose Sora too.

"I’m not about to leave you behi-”

“Riku, please!” Sora’s voice raised. Riku was caught off guard. “You’re the last of the royal line. The world needs you. _I_ need you to survive. So please, let me do my fucking job and protect you.”

Riku wasn’t sure how to respond, so he just nodded, gripping the unfamiliar sword tighter in his hand.

Sora seemed satisfied. “Good. Now, run!” He yelled, jumping into combat with the Niflheim officer. The MTs were soon upon him as well. He seemed to be doing well enough, holding his own. Riku knew Sora was one of the best, and he hadn’t even begun using his magic yet. He’d be fine. He had to be fine.

Riku had to force himself away from the scene, turning to run as fast as he could. He prayed to the Six that Sora would be able to hold them off. He couldn’t tell what the sounds of the battle behind him indicated.

Soon enough, he was out on the street. He froze at the sight of MTs and bodies and rubble everywhere. He wanted to throw up.

The city, his home, was destroyed. The people were scattered and afraid, on the run or dead. It was never supposed to be like this, but there was nothing he could do.

He had to keep running. Through the ruined streets he’d known his whole life. Past shops that might never open again, people who deserved better.

He was almost at the city limits, just another block and he could breathe. He could wait right outside for Sora to find him. Riku found strength in the last thought.

Then a hand clamped over his mouth and he was pulled back into a half destroyed building. The sword dropped from his hand as he readied an elbow to drive into the person’s gut.

“Don’t even think about it.” A familiar voice warned before he was released. He spun around to see Ventus. It was strange, seeing him alone. “I’m so glad to see you.”

Riku wasn’t sure what to say. He kinda just stared for a second, realizing in the moment how fast his beating, how hard he was breathing. Ventus took the lack of response in stride. He shot Riku a grin, tired but genuine.

“We have a plan to sneak you out of here.” Ventus began again, once Riku had calmed down some. “The main exits from the city have been barricaded, but there are some cracks in the Empire’s defenses just waiting to be exploited.”

“We?”

“Aqua and Terra are rounding up everyone they can find to keep them safe. We’re going to get as many people out of the city as possible. But, as the last of the royal line, you’re now our top priority.” Riku hadn’t noticed the phone in Ventus’ hand until a text tone rang out.

“What?”

“That’s Aqua. We have to go now.” Ventus put his phone away. “They’ve gotten everyone out that they could find. The Empire is closing in on our location. We can’t stay here any longer.”

Riku wanted to ask more questions, (Was Sora with them? When had things gone so horribly wrong?) but Ventus was already making his way out, leaving Riku with no choice but to follow.

The crack in Niflheim’s defenses was a literal crack in the wall surrounding Insomnia, just barely wide enough for Riku to squeeze through. On the other side, well away from any place that they could be seen, was a handful of Glaives and Crownsguard nursing their wounds. Others were helping the injured. None of them had a too-large sword in hand and a head full of messy brown spikes.

“Is this everyone? I thought you were helping civilians.” Riku felt angry and guilty. More people could be saved if they weren’t spending their energy on keeping him alive.

“We did.” Aqua soothed, placing a hand on his shoulder. “But we sent them along already. Everyone believes you are dead. It’s probably best for the world to think that, for the moment.” He didn’t know how he was supposed to feel about that, so he just shrugged and stayed quiet, listening to the conversations going on around him.

“Is this really everyone? Where’s Sora?” Ventus asked someone behind him, sounding just as worried as Riku was feeling. Riku listened close, wanting to know the same thing.

“Ven, I’m sorry.” Terra started. Riku’s blood froze in his veins. No. “We looked for him as long as we could. No one was able to find him.”

“I. I need to call Roxas. He needs to know not to come back here.” Ventus sounded more shaken than Riku would have ever expected. Even a Glaive’s composure could break sometimes. He couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be to tell Sora’s twin that he might be gone.

“We’ll get Riku somewhere safe, and then we’ll come back to look for him, alright?” Terra offered. It didn’t sound like he had much hope, but Ventus must have agreed to that plan of action, because they soon walked around into view. Ventus had the same look of determination as always, an expression he shared with his brothers, with no trace of the trembling that Riku had heard in his voice. When he spoke, he addressed the whole group.

“This is where we separate for now. Do your best to protect the people, and let them believe that the whole Caelum line is dead. Keep in touch. We’ll retake Insomnia somehow, with or without the chosen King. Just not today. For now, we train and help others get back onto their feet.” There were murmurs among those gathered, but none outright argued. Soon enough, Riku was left alone with Aqua, Terra, and Ventus.

“Let’s get you to Hammerhead.” Aqua said, grabbing his shoulder lightly once again. “A few days working with Cid, and no one will guess that you’re a prince.” Riku nodded. Cid, that was a name he knew, someone at least somewhat familiar.

He took a shaky breath. He could do this. “How are we going to get there?” He turned to look at the others as he spoke. “Noct had the Regalia, and we can’t exactly get any more vehicles through the wall.”

Terra smirked at him and let out a long, low whistle. Moments later, Riku heard a telltale “kweh!” as yellow feathers came into view. Chocobos.

Riku smiled just a little as Destiny approached and headbutted him in the shoulder. “Hey girl.” Riku greeted, petting the feathers on her head. He’d never been more glad that the chocobos were mostly kept outside of the city. “We have a long ride ahead of us.”

Once everyone was settled, Aqua took the lead. “We’re going to try to stick to the trees as long as possible. There should be enough time to make it to the garage before dark.” Well, that was good. Riku really doubted he was in any shape to put up with the daemons after everything.

The ride itself was quiet and uneventful. No one talked much outside of Aqua’s directions and Ventus’ phone call with Roxas. Riku would have almost preferred the distraction of daemons to being allowed to dwell of his grief.

His father, Noctis, Sora, all gone. If any of the others noticed Riku’s tears, they didn’t comment on them. Of course, he could see that Ventus also appeared to be crying.

The time locked in his head made the long ride feel longer, but eventually the four of them arrived at Hammerhead. The diner and Cid’s auto shop looked welcoming, after the disaster of the city and the nothingness of the road. His stomach rumbled. He hadn’t even realized he was hungry, although he wasn’t sure he’d actually be able to keep down any food.

Aqua directed them to the garage before they dismounted, sending the chocobos off to eat some grass, or whatever the birds actually did when not needed. A blonde girl exited the shop and approached.

“Welcome to Hammerhead!” She smiled large. Riku wondered if she knew yet what had happened at Insomnia. It seemed like there was no way she did. “You must be the friend Aqua was tellin’ me about.” She said, turning to Riku. “I’m Cindy. Nice to meet ya!”

Riku was a little startled by her brightness. “Uh. Hi.”

“We already have a room set up for you so feel free to stay as long as you’d like.”

“Thank you for this Cindy. Terra, Ven, and I have to go, but please let us know if you need anything.” Riku spun around to stare at Aqua. What? They wouldn’t leave him here, right?

“Any time, really. But if you’re leaving tonight, best be off now, to avoid the worst of the daemons.” Cindy backed off a little ways, to leave space for goodbyes.

Aqua pulled Riku into a short hug. It was extended when Terra and Ventus latched on too. “I wouldn’t leave you here if I didn’t trust them completely. We’ll be back soon.” They squeezed him tight once more, before letting go. All three of them gave quick, polite goodbyes to Cindy before leaving back towards Insomnia. Riku watched until they were out of sight.

“Let me show you to the room, alright?” Cindy said, quieter now than she had been before. Riku allowed her to lead him to a bedroom above the shop. “I’ll come get you before dinner, if you’re feeling up to it.”

The door slipped shut, and then he was alone.

He checked his phone as he laid down on top of the covers, hoping for a message that at least Sora was okay. No such message was forthcoming. He didn’t know what he’d expected.

Finally, he let himself cry unrestrained, locked alone in an unfamiliar room. He let himself feel everything from the day’s events that he’d tried to suppress in order to survive. It was cathartic.

He must have fallen asleep at some point, because when he next looked out the window the sun was high in the midday sky, not setting like it had been the last time he’d looked. At least an entire night had gone by.

Riku felt a little better. Not much, but he could function. He could start to plan a way to get his home back. He had to, for his dad, for Noctis. For Sora.

With those he’d lost on his mind, Riku got up to face the day.

The first step was to get something to eat. Thank the gods that the diner was close. He’d need to get more clothes too, maybe some healing items. But that stuff could wait. His stomach was in charge at the moment. Food first, shopping later.

He was almost to the dinner when he heard a vehicle slam to a stop. The sound of boots on the pavement, someone running up behind him, made him stop, tense and battle ready. The boots stopped.

“Riku?”


End file.
